A: The pour is very dark brown in color with a finger of khaki colored head.

S: Rather smokey on the aroma with tons of roasted malts and coffee. A somewhat earthy aroma with some dark chocolate and a little bit of black pepper. Pretty simple nose, not much sweetness, either.

T: There is a touch of molasses and toffee on the flavor to give a break from all the roasted malt flavors. In addition to the roast, some coffee and dark chocolate as well as a bit of earthy hop bitterness.

M: Medium bodied with the carbonation a touch on the high side for a porter.

O: Good but not outstanding. Pretty bold flavors, so if you're into the heavy roast, you might like this one.

Bottle from the ever-generous Shane (HopHead84). Opened this right after Hill Farmstead Everett, which set a pretty lofty standard - I'll try to evaluate this one on its own merits though. Served in a Jester King tulip.

A - Big tan foam settles to a thin cap and thick collar, leaving minimal lacing. Dark brown body with some lighter orange-brown coloration at the fringes of the glass.

S - This is a much drier and more attenuated porter than Everett. Roasty, with lower sweetness that comes in the form of dark chocolate. Light hop aroma, as well as some faint smoke. I thought this was a bigger beer than 6.7%, although there isn't any overt alcohol.

T - Taste has more milk chocolate than I was expecting from the aroma, as well as some dark fruit flavors. Still, it's quite roasty with flavors of toasted bread and faint espresso bitterness.

M - Seems slightly overcarbonated, with zesty and tingly carbonation. Medium body that is fairly roasty and dry in texture. Surprisingly refreshing and appealing on a hot summer day.

D - I can imagine this would have been a standout offering back in 1996. It's interesting to see how American brewing culture and techniques, as well as taste, have change after 15 years. In 2011, this is a good and enjoyable robust porter. I'd happily drink this again if Tomme and friends decide to whip up another batch.

Thanks to Alex for this, he somehow always knows what's about to go onto the ever complicated buzzed list... light brown body doesn’t look great, but has a great light tan head, great retention and lacing... light generic nose... a bit too carbonated, taste is super bland, this is not very good, pass

pour is dark cola brown with barely any light shining through and a ton of tight light brown head. The nose offers some rich chocolate with a fair amount of roasty malts. Taste is a bit of the same, notes of unsweetened chocolate, roasty malts, a touch watery in the finish. A hint of sweetness lingers on top of a light coffee bitterness. A soft silky body is alluring on the tongue and the weak finish holds this back from being very drinkable.

Thanks to rmaste6282 for this extra in a fall-time trade. Now that the cold has finally arrived, I guess it's not fall anymore. Let's hurry up & get to hard-water season.

Pour is black. No wiggle room. Smell is faint to the point of being lost: malts? Spare bits of sweet, malt, coffee, chocolate. But one has to bury the nose in the glass to find them.

La Cruda is a pretty standard entry in the porter field, & there's no lion rampant. Plenty of roast that borders on vague coffee. Sweet malts. Then a vague, odd underlying fruitiness. Nothing specific. Bailiwick of chocolate. End of the road is bitter, crossing the line from hoppy to old coffee. Half a bomber is more than enough.

Decent beer, but not something I'd seek out again. Porters are a dime a dozen, with the advantage that the good ones stick out like a good '80's movie. Not this one. I'll stick to the Port stuff with a lot of hops.

Consumed on draft at Bangin' Burgers near Miramar NAS on October 9th, 2011.

A clear, very deep brown that allows moderate amounts of light through. A light tan, creamy head of very fine bubbles sits one and a half fingers high on the top of the beer.

Deeply roasted malt aroma with traces of smoke.

Flavor is dark roasted and smoked malts, light coffee and a touch of mintiness before a lightly bitter finish. Aftertaste features a return engagement from that mint. Despite that, it finishes pretty cleanly.

O - This is a pretty good porter. Flavorful, dry and toasty with some nice dark malt flavors and a firm-enough bitterness to help it finish quickly and cleanly. I'd like to see this one available on the shelf in the future.

Bottle poured into a snifter. I don't remember who sent me this one but thank you! one of my favorite styles from one of my favorite breweries.

black when in the glass but when pouring it looked light brown. A nice fluffy tan head rests on top. It looks awfully tasty. Some roasty notes in the aroma, a bit of a smoky note, maybe some chocolate but I might just be expecting that.

Overall a solid beer. That being said nothing about this beer really sticks out to make it a great one. I'm glad to have tried it and wouldn't mind drinking it again but I wouldn't try to hard to obtain it.

Splitting this bottle with a friend of mine who just attended the national homebrewers conference. Apparently, they gave it out to everyone there!

It pours a nice black color with a surprisingly light colored head that has incredible retention! The aroma is very fruity and estery...seems more like a traditional english porter than american based on yeast character alone. There is a nice roast that blends with the esters. The flavor is similar, but the flavors are melded a bit better together than in the aroma. It finishes somewhat dry and refreshing. [sidenote: i'm thoroughly enjoying it!]. The finishing bitterness is nice and goes well with the dryness and roast of the beer. There is some silkiness in the mouthfeel, which is nice this beer because I'm not usde to that in a porter with this ABV.